The Pursuit of Nightshade
by Vitalis Obitus
Summary: How will Ruby cope, after failing her team as leader? How will she keep herself together and hold on? What actions will she take, and will her team even recognise after its all over? Rated M for certain violence, language and possible sexual scenes.
1. Intro!

So, this is a new story for me. It starts at end of season three, going on detail what happens if team JNPR didn't show up to help Ruby. How Ruby would act, what challenges she would face, and how would overcome such threats. It will be a story filed with grief, action, adventure and love. Loss and hurt, friendship and betrayal.


	2. Chapter One: The Persuit Begins

Two petals fluttered down towards the ground, one a startling red, like that of freshly drawn blood, the other, black as a moonless night, with a dash of purple gradiant. There was a stark contrast between the two of these petals, but they blended together perfectly, like they were made to be together. Both were as deadly as the other, but in separate ways. Much like the two girls who personified them.

Belladonna and Rose, or as most knew them, Blake and Ruby. Two girls in their teens, one slightly older than the other, but both very much overwhelmed by everything that they've faced, and would face in the coming years. Having barely lived through the first two semesters of their first year of the combat school, Blake and Ruby found themselves separated. The sister of the younger girl, injured in a way that would cripple her in more ways than one, and the friend of the both of them, taken back to Atlas, against her will, by her own Father for her "Protection".

That, however, was nothing conpared to what had happened to Team JNPR. Not only did they also feel the pain of losing those three friends from RWBY, but they lost their own teammate. Permantaly. There was no chance of seeing her again. No chance of calling her. No chance of giving her a hug, telling her it's okay to sit on the sidelines for a bit. No. Pyrra Nikos, the untouchable girl, the undefeated champion of Beacon, and a fully fledged hunter in all but title was slain. Not by a creature of Grimm, but rather by a human. Though Ruby refused to think of that any more than needed. Because thinking of that brought back memories of what happened after; a bright silver light, followed by darkness, a killer headache, and then waking up in bed, at home, only to feel the pain of all the losses over again. Yang lost her arm, Blake was stabbed, Pyrra was... And then Weiss left. After everything, Team RWBY had fallen apart, and Ruby felt like a total failure. She couldn't even keep her team together for half a year.

Then, she thought of her father and uncle. They had lost a sister and a wife, or rather, two wives. Ruby and Yangs mothers. Yet, they never gave up. Qrow ran solo missions, and Dad took care of his two daughters on his own! With that thought in mind, two dull silver eyes opened to stare at the wooden planks above the small girl. Below her, more planks. She still lay alone, inside her room at her uncles 'safehouse' as he called it. Herself, Yang, Qrow and her father all had their own rooms. But Ruby had decided to leave, of course, she wasn't as foolhardy as she was when she first started at Beacon. Weiss had knocked /some/ sense into her, after all. Unless she convinced Qrow that she would be able to handle herself, he would drag her back five seconds after she touched the front door. She needed a plan.

She groaned at the thought. Plans like this was where Weiss excelled. Ruby was a horrible liar, and definitly couldn't fool Qrow, and especially not her own dad, into letting her go, she needed a reason, and she couldn't exactly come out with "I want to go look for my partner who may or may not be alive, even though I have absolutly no clue where she might be!". She also thought that "I want to hunt down Cinder and make her pay for what she done to us all!" was an equally bad idea, if not worse.

Before she could formulate a solid plan, however, there was a knock at the door. Lacking her usual energy and enthusasim, the girl stood, looking herself over then heading to the door, slowly opening it and looking up to see who it was.

"Oh, hi, Uncle Qrow." Ruby gave him a half hearted smile, trying to look convincing, but clearly failing. She took a small step back, letting the hunter into her room.

"Hey there, Kiddo." He quipped, his tone somewhat matching hers. Clearly, the events of that night weren't easy on him, either. Ruby wondered why, for a moment, then remembered, Qrow and Ozpin had been rather close, too. And he had vanished, according the Jaune, the last person to see him, he was fighting with Cinder, who Ruby had seen kill Ph-. She stopped thinking there, shaking her head to herself. "How're you holding up?" He asked the question, though it was clear he alread knew the answer, as his arms were already held out to offer a hug to the younger girl. She pretty much threw herself into his arms, but she didn't cry. Not this time. She had too much to do to cry. She had told Jaune that leaders weren't allowed to be failures, and she had to live up to those words.

She heard the sound of the door closing, and assumed that Qrow had pushed it shut with his foot, before gently ruffling Ruby's hair. Before Ruby could get another word out, however, he had started talking in a low voice. "I never told you how I handled your mother's death, did I?" Once again, he phrased it like a question, but it was more a statement. Ruby looked up at Qrow, who had locked his gaze on two falling petals outside the window, watching them caught in the breeze, bouncing up and down in the wind, constantally separated, but never growing any closer or further apart, like they were held at equal distance by a piece of string.

"It was the middle of summer, ironically. She was sent on a mission, as I'm sure you know, and never returned. The threat of Grimm in that area was relitivly low, but a week after she left, the entire village was wiped out. flattened by Grimm in numbers that rivaled what you fought at Beacon." His voice grew more and more sombre with every word. "Of course, everyone was scared. Running around like headless chickens. We never found out what brought that many to such a safe location. But, in the weeks after her death, Ty and I were torn. Go looking for answers and kill everything along the way; a thought I'm sure you're having right about now, or stay and look after the kids."

His gaze lowered to look at Ruby, a kind, warm and understanding glow in the soft hues of his eyes, very different from his public face. Ruby, however, held feelings of shame behind her silver orbs. Sure, she didn't have any kids, but she hadn't spared a thought for Yang. And Qrow had seen her plan to leave before she could even come up with one!

"Now, Ty has spent the last 17 years looking after Yang, and 15 looking after you, Ruby... And he's not willing to stop now, but..." He paused for a second, taking a small step back from Ruby, then holding out something. An Envelope. Pale white, and with the symbol of a flower on the front. At first, she thought it was from Weiss, then her eyes focused on it. It was a rose. Slowly, Ruby reached up, taking the letter and turning it over to look at the back. Written in the neatest handwriting she had ever seen, even more perfect than Weiss', were two words that made Ruby's heart skip a beat. "My Daughter".

She stared at those two words for what felt like a lifetime, until her vision became blurred, causing her to blink, only to feel two drops of water run down her face. The red clad grl quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, Qrow placed a hand on her shoulder, giving a wry smile, before speaking up once again, his voice still low, but holding some of the humour it normally carried. "Well, are you going to open it? Ty and I have been waiting nearly sixteen years to know what's inside that. Summer wrote it out a few months after you were born, gave it to Ty and I with instructions to give it to you once, and I quote 'she opens her eyes'."

Ruby blinked a few more times, then focused on the envelope once more. She carefully opened the envelope, breaking the glue with caution she would never consider using with anything else, well, anything other than Cresent Rose. Inside the envelope, was a letter, as to be expected. She gently tugged the paper free of the envelope, unfolded it, and began reading. It was a difficult task, as she had to keep on wiping tears away from her face. Though, after the first line, she probably could have read the rest in her sleep.

"'Tis the last rose of summer,

Left blooming alone;

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone;

No flower her kindred,

No rosebud is nigh,

To reflect back her blushes,

Or give sigh for sigh.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one!

To pine on the stem;

Since the lovely are sleeping,

Go, sleep thou with them.

Thus kindly I scatter,

Thy leaves o'er the bed,

Where thy mates of the garden

Lie scentless and dead.

So soon may I follow,

When friendships decay,

And from Love's shining circle

The gems drop away.

When true hearts lie withered,

And fond ones are flown,

Oh! who would inhabit

This bleak world alone?"

She read and re-read the words time and time again. Despite herself, tears kept on flowing from her eyes, clouding her vision. But, surely that couldn't be it? She turned the page, looking on the back, and a small smile appeared upon her lips. She was right, there was more.

"Ruby Rose, my sweet, sweet daughter.

I know not how old you are when reading this, but I hope you have everything you could want. A happy life, loving friends, and maybe even a family of your own. As much as I would hate to see you end up like me, I know it is inevitable. Both your father and I were Hunters, as well as your uncle and Yang's mother. And, of course, you share my eyes, which you have now opened, unless of course, you are reading this too soon.

First, I am sorry for leaving you. I never wanted to make you face the world without me, and I'm guessing, or rather, hoping, it was on a mission, not at home, fighting an illness. That would be typical of me, though, kill hundreds of Grimm every month just to get taken out by a common cold."

At this, Ruby had to stifle a small laugh. Clearly, her mother was just like herself. That brought a small smile to her face, despite the tears that still flowed down the side of her face.

"Secondly, a warning. As I'm sure you've figured out, unless you turned out as slow as Ty (ask him about who proposed to who, and you'll understand what I mean) your eyes are powerful. More powerful than any Dust, blade or gun that we could ever hope to create. But, as I'm sure you can guess, that means it will take a lot out of you. I'm hoping your first time wasn't as bad as mine. I was bedridden for a month. I couldn't walk more than five steps without my legs giving out on me.

Finally, some motherly advice. Stay away from boys, don't trust Lien lenders, and always keep your friends close. If you do find yourself on a team, as a Huntress, in training, or in title, keep those three close to you, no matter what. Ozpin may be eccentric at times, but he has never faulted me, you can trust him, too. Finally, you are a Rose, Ruby. Believe in yourself, for I will be with you always.

There's so much I want to tell you, Ruby, so much I want to teach you, and I hope I have done, but this job is dangerous, and I never know if I am coming home or not. The only thing that keeps me fighting, is knowing that every Grimm I kill, is one less that could threaten you. One less Grimm that could threaten Yang, or Ty. One less problem that Reminant has to deal with. One less monster for the next generation of Hunters and Huntresses.

I love you, Ruby Rose, never forget that.

Thus kindly, I scatter."

By the end of it, Ruby had given up on wiping the tears away, and was giggling at her mother's humour. Qrow has settled on watching the two petals, which had finally come to rest upon the window ledge just inside the room. Ruby spoke up, at long last, with a voice that seemed to have regained some of it's cheerfulness, and all of it's dertirmination.

"I'm going after Blake!" She announced, her watery eyes raising to meet Qrow's. She expected him to argue, and try to make her stay, but instead, he cracked a grin.

"About time, too, don't you think?" He replied, turning on his heel and heading towards her door. "But you're not going alone. I'm tagging along. You know Blake better than I do, so you lead, I follow. 'Course, I'll be taking point if we run into any trouble. Can't go breaking the promise I made to Ty, to keep you safe on this mission now, can I?"

Ruby frowned at her Uncle, setting the letter down on the bed, then starting to follow him. "Wait, you and Dad already agreed to let me go?!" She asked, her arms waving about slightly in confused frustration. Just a few minutes ago, she was planning a way to convince them, and an escape if that failed, and now, she had been told that all she had to do was say she was leaving?

Qrow gave a small laugh, then shrugged. "Well, we figured that if we didn't let you go, you'd have ran off when we weren't looking, and tracking you, a small girl who moves faster than lightning... Well, that would be a pain. So, Ty will look after Yang, I'll look after you, and you can track down your friend. Everyone's happy. Besides, I don't like staying at home and doing nothing anymore than you do."

Ruby could do little more than glare at the back of Qrow's head as he retreated from the room. She couldn't really complain, since he had said that she would lead, but she still didn't like the idea that she needed to be protected. Of course, the heavy weight on her eyes, along with the warning from her mother, said otherwise. Instead, she opted for walking out her room behind him, following him to the main room, where Cresent Rose lay, exactly how she was last time she saw her weapon.

"You should probably do some weapon maintanance. I didn't touch her, and Ty wasn't brave enough to mess with her." Qrow let out a small chuckle, then patted the top of a large mahogany table, where he then set his own weapon, and began disassembling it, piece by piece. Ruby nodded and followed suit, a small smile on her face at the fact no one else decided to clean her weapon. To her, Cresent Rose was more than just a tool to be swung around and fired. She was a person, better than a person, really.

So she sat down with her, starting to take apart Cresent Rose, piece by piece, cleaning out the Dust residue, along with the pieces of rock and some small amounts of what looked like blood. In comparison, however, Cresent Rose was perfectly clean, when placed next to Qrow's own blade. His was thick with the stench of blood. A few weeks ago, Ruby would have been unable to stand the smell, but now she simply sat down across from him and continued to clean her own weapon. She knew exactly where the blood was from, how it got there, and why it needed to be there. It was human blood. Or rather, Faunus blood. When the Grimm flodded into Beacon, the White Fang attacked alongside them. The older hunters weren't about to let the kids kill other people, so they picked off every member of the White Fang who raised a weapon against a student, or a hunter. That's not to say that Ruby was entirely comfortable with knowing her uncle had killed people that night, but she would much rather they die, than kill her friends... More of her friends, rather.

They sat together in silence, bar the sounds of metal sliding along metal, and bristles brushing down tubes and wipes going across outside surfaces. Ruby finished first, so she gave Cresent Rose another cleaning, just to be sure, before starting to reassemble her. Before she could, however, Qrow spoke up once more. "Ruby. I need you to promise me one thin whilst we're out there, okay?" Ruby replied with a small nod, looking up at him.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Don't die. No matter what, you make sure you stay alive. If not for you, then for me, for Yang, for your friends, and most of all... For Taiyang. Dust knows, we've all lost too many people. So, no matter what, stay alive. Even if it means you have to kill someone, please, stay alive, and preferably in one piece."

Ruby looked down at the pieces of Cresent Rose. That was another thing she hadn't considered. She could actually die. Even though she had watched Pyrra-. She never gave any thought to the fact that she could die quite easily out there. Pyrra was a much better fighter than she was, as much as Ruby hated to admit it. Her Sembalance gave her the upperhand quite easily, and she still lost. And Ruby hadn't stopped to consider what it would do to everyone else if Qrow had to come home and break the news. Would he tell Weiss himself, or would Yang do it, she wondered. What about if, no, when Blake came back? How would she react to finding out that the leader of her team had died looking for her? And Yang, how would Yang react? She was already depressed enough as it is. She wouldn't leave her room, or talk. It was like Yang just wasn't here, since she lost her arm. Ruby could understand how she felt. She was a fighter, an adventurer. And now, she may never fight again, putting an end to her life as a huntress before it began. Her father flashed through her mind last. Summer and Raven. Both of them, he lost. Ruby's stepmother, and then her mother. Now, it looked as though he had lost Yang, what with how she was acting. Losing Ruby too would probably kill him.

Ruby looked up at Qrow, then gave him a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I won't die until Blake is back home safe. Promise!" And she meant it. Blake was all alone out there, having to avoid the White Fang, the Grimm, and the police. Ruby didn't even know if she had any family or friends she would go to. The only family she mentioned, was the peaceful White Fang, and the only friends... Well, he stabbed her and cut off Yangs arm, so Ruby certainly hoped she didn't go looking for him. Which left only one solution. Drag her back home. Admittedly, Weiss would probably then kill her for running off in the first place, and not talking to her friends like she had promised, but at least she would have her friends around.

After that, they fell back into silence as Qrow gave his weapon another once-over, and Ruby set to work reassembling Cresent Rose, then giving her a test fire, without being loaded, obviously. She made that mistake before, and her instructer at Signal had not been overly pleased at the baseball sized hole in the wall, though she was more than slightly impressed with the power of the newly constructed sniper scythe.

An hour later, Ruby and Qrow were ready to leave. The red clad girl had left a note for Yang, since she was sleeping, and gave her dad a hug and brief goodbyes, promising to come back safe, and telling him it would probably be safer than at Beacon, since she had Qrow with her. Qrow and Taiyang just shared a firm handshake, a brief nod and a silent look. She gave Zwei a quick pet, told him to behave and look after Yang and dad whilst she was gone, then stepped out the door, taking on her second mission.

Of course, she hadn't spent all that time cleaning her weapon without thinking about what to do. As soon as they stepped outside, she looked over in the direction of Beacon, which was entiely deserted now, aside from the Grimm that had swarmed the place. "Do you think we can get in there? I need to check something out." She asked Qrow, looking up at him with a serious gaze. She didn't just want one final look before heading off for however long it may take to find Blake. Qrow met her gaze, then nodded once.

"Yeah, there's a drainage pipe that empties out at the farside of Forever Fall Forest. It should lead straight under the tower... Assuming it hasn't caved in since the battle, anyway."

Ruby nodded a small bit, looking up at the sun that was slowly starting to set over the horizon, turning the tree canopy of Forever Fall an even more beautiful shade of red and orange. "Alright! Lets go! Lead the way, Uncle Qrow!" With a sense of purpose, Ruby cheered, raising a finger to the air, pointing in the direction of the forest, then followed the older man who was doing his best to stifle a laugh at the girls sudden exhuberence. Clearly, having something to do cheered her up a fair bit.

* * *

As Ruby had predicted, it did take several hours, and the deaths of at least twenty groups of Grimm, to find the drainage pipe. Ruby barely had to do anything, though. With Qrow beside her, most of the Grimm that so much as looked at the two died, and Ruby only caught the briefest flash of light from Qrow's sword before it cleaved straight through the neck of the offending Grimm.

Standing outside the pipe, however, Ruby was starting to doubt her idea. The whole thing reeked of something vile, and was coated in some type of slime that she didn't even want to consider what it could be. Qrow, however, stepped inside without a moment's hesitation, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a mini-flashlight, which turned the pitch black abyss of a tunnel into a nicely illluminated streach of green, brown and black gooey pipe. "I think I prefered it when I couldn't see..." She commented, her voice comically defeated. That earned a light laugh from Qrow.

"Come on, it's not too far from here to Beacon." He reminded her, walking slowly, so as to not slip on the slimey surface of the pipe. Ruby followed close behind, making a slight noise of disgust at the sound her boots made against the surface of the floor.

"Give me a horde of Grimm over slimey tunnels anyday... Heck, give me a dance over slimey tunnels anyday." She groaned to herself, following her Uncle none-the-less.

Fortunatly for Ruby, as Qrow had said, it didn't take too long for them to reach an opening in the tunnel. An equally as slimy ladder lead upwards towards an exit, and on either side more, much narrower pipes attached to the one they had just walked through. Thankfully, the higher they climbed, the less Ruby could smell... Whatever that horrid smell was. Upon opening the manhole, they were greeted with a breath of fresh air, and the sight of a ruined tower, giant cogs lay scattered on the floor, reminants from Pyrra's battle with Cinder. There were huge holes in the wall, along with giant chunks of concrete missing from the floor, and a strange machine that Ruby had never seen before at the far end of the room.

"Normally, we wouldn't have made it this far. Security systems in the sewage pipes. But they all shut down when Beacon was destroyed." Qrow explained, shortly before putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder, pulling her back, away from the strange machine. "Leave that be... It's what started all this, in a way. I don't want you anywhere near it."

Ruby gave a small nod, his tone didn't really leave much room for argument, anyway. "So, uh... How do we get out of here, anyway? I need to get to my room. There should be something there that can help us!"

"Well, normally, we'd take the elevator, but, since Cinder destroyed it..." He started, moving a hand behind his back, then quickly flicking it infront of him, making a perfect circle in the air, then returning it to the same place. Of course, this was all too fast for Ruby's eyes to follow, so she completly missed him drawing his sword, and the spinning of the gears. But what she didn't miss, was a perfectly circular tunnel of stone, suddenly turning to little more than powdered rock, making another, less disgusting tunnel they could crawl through. This one was at a slight angle, fortunatly, meaning they would eventually reach the surface. It only took a few minutes, and the pair were standing in the middle of the school Café, where just a few months ago, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Pyrra, Jaune, Nora, Ren and Ruby had a foodfight, laughing and cheering, without a care in the world.

"Things will never be the same again, will they, Qrow...?" She asked, looking around the hall, spotting several large patches of dried blood, a few gnawed bones, and masses of mess all over, ranging from a smashed glass, to a smoking crater in the floor.

He responded with a small shrug. "It's always been like this. You've just never seen this side of a war, Kiddo. We all hoped you never would, either."

In the weeks that Ruby had been recovering, Hunters and Huntresses were defending the boarders of Vale from a new angle. Beacon. No one could get close to the school, because of the sheer number of Grimm, but it seemed like the Grimm were being controlled by something. They weren't as mindless as usual. Something that Professor Oobleck said to her rang in the back of her head. 'Not all Grimm are mindless beasts, Ruby. The Grimm you see before you have probably lived for thousands of years, and in that time, they have learned.' Maybe an old Grimm was leading all these Grimm? Could it be that giant Dragon Grimm that she had frozen somehow, still keeping the others in line? She didn't have much time to dewll on the thought, though, as just outside the broken doors of the Cafeteria, a Beowolf walked past. Qrow pulled Ruby down to the floor, behind a table that was knocked on it's side, raising a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet. Ruby complied. Sure, they could kill that one, but no doubt, there would be hundreds right behind it. So they waited for it to pass, looking over the top of the top of the table every few seconds.

After a few minutes, Qrow gave Ruby a nod, then slowly got to his feet once more. "Okay, we'll split up here. You get to your room as fast as you can. Use your Sembelance. If you come across any Grimm, don't slow down. Only take them out if there's no other option. When you get to your room, open the window for me."

"Wait, why don't we go together? Wouldn't it be safer?" She asked, clearly rather confused. She would never think of splitting her own team up like that, especially in such a dangerous area. But Qrow just shoot his head.

"Nah. I'm not as fast as you are. You can run past Grimm, and they won't be able to follow. Me, I'd be seen, or fall flat on my face trying to keep up with you. I'll get past them my own way, now lets go. No telling when the next Grimm will come past." He gave her a small nod towards the door. Ruby gave him one last look, returned the nod, then sped off. The world around her became little more than a blur of dull colours. She wouldn't go this fast anywhere else, what with all the tight corners she had to pull off, but she knew Beacon like the back of her hand. Within seconds, she was standing outside her room, the door swung open without the need for a Scroll.

Once she was inside, she took a moment to look around the darkened room. It was exacly as they had left it. Blake's books were lined up neatly on the shelves, one or two probably hidden under her matress, and her cupboard filled with her clothes and bows. Yang's top bunk was messily made, with her pyjama's thrown on top. Weiss' bed was, obviously, the neatest, everything around it in absolutly perfect condition. Well, everything but the bed that swung from the rooftops, held up by a few strong pieces of rope. Another messy bed, with various magazines strewn across the top, most of them about different weapons, and one or two from the SDC, her main supplier of dust, thanks to Weiss being able to get her a discount. It was times like that, Weiss said, that she enjoyed the perks of being the Heiress. She could help out friends with such things whenever they needed it. She even helped Blake out by getting her some Dust, too. It wasn't much, but it was an obvious guesture. They were more than Teamates. They were friends, friends who would always have each other's backs.

A slight tapping from the window knocked Ruby out of her nostalgic trip, and she quickly walked over to the window, pulling it open to let her uncle inside. She thought about asking how he got up here, but then remembered Sun and Neptune. If they could do it, it was only obvious that Qrow could, too.

Qrow stepped inside placing one foot on the table in front of the window, then stepping down and closing it behind him. "Okay, Kiddo. What are we looking for?" He asked, glancing around the room for anything that he thought could be useful. Thsi wasn't the first time he had been in the room of Team RWBY, but the way that they had made bunkbeds still brought a smile to his face. Back in the day, Summer had suggested the same thing. Raven had tried shooting her down, but Qrow and Taiyang had been on board for that idea. It seemed fun, though they hadn't used books and rope to make their beds.

"A book!" Ruby declared, oblivious to Qrow's own nostalgic trip. "Blake was constantally reading a book before the school dance, she said she was researching the White Fang, learning all she could about them. Maybe she left some clues?"

Qrow nodded in understanding. "You're thinking that she has gone after the White Fang in retaliation for their attack on Beacon?"

The red clad girl returned the nod. "Or, I could be completly wrong, and sending us on a wild Nevermore chase... But Mum told me to follow my gut, and my gut says Blake wouldn't take this attack lying down!"

"Well, Summer always did have good instincts. It'd make sense you took that from her." He quipped, allowing a smile to cross his face. "But there's just one problem... There are hundreds of books here, who's to say she didn't take it with her?"

Ruby shook her head, walking over to Blake's bed, then sitting on the soft matress, then sliding one hand under the pillow, frowning to herself, then reaching inside the pillow, pulling out a large black book. "Here it is! Yang convinced her to stop killing herself with overdoing all the research. So she stopped taking it with her everywhere she went. I saw her sliding it under her pillow one night, after we all went to bed."

Qrow gave a light chuckle, then settled for sitting on Weiss' bed, looking across at Ruby, who had opened and was reading the large book, all handwritten by Blake, with various cuttings and illustration of the White Fang. One stood out, on the second page, there was a hand drawn picture of a man, he wore a mask, and held a long sword, like a Katana. Two bull horns poked out above the top of his unruly hair. Ruby had never seen him before, of that, she was certain, but he seemed familiar somehow. She opted to ignore it, for the time being, and started skimming through the book. Right near the back, there was a map of Reminant. A few places circled, with numbers beside them. Vale, Minstral and Atlas were one through three. After that, there were several villages dotted all around with numbers like 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, and so on for each area. Two silver eyes narrowed at this, then she settled on the first village, 1.1, that was just a few miles from Vale.

"Hey, Qrow... What do you know about the villages outside Vale?" She asked, trying to see a connection. "Do any of them have direct connections or something? Or have any of them been attacked recently?"

"Not that I've heard of. Though, I did once break into an underground tunnel between Argos and Dion. Why?" He asked, standing and walking over towards the girl, looking down at the map. After a few seconds, he groaned to himself. "All those circled villages. They're known locations that the White Fang have stayed for any length of time. Except this one. Kamachi. Never heard of the White Fang being there." He commented, tapping the map a few times.

Ruby's eyes lit up at this, and she jumped to her feet, nearly banging her head off Yang's bed. "Then we're going to Kamachi!" She declared, once more. "If Blake had it circled, along with all the other White Fang bases, Kamachi must be one, too. She uh... She used to be a member, butsheleftafteritgottooviolent!" She spoke quickly so as to not let Qrow interupt her. "So... I guess she would know where more of their bases are, right? If I were Blake... I'd go after the one that no one else knew about. After all, the hunters and police can handle the ones they know about."

Qrow nodded, beaming with pride at his niece, then ruffled her hair once more. "Alright, I'll meet you back at the drainage pipe, unless there's something else?" When Ruby shook her head a small bit, Qrow nodded, then walked over to the window, stepping outside, then vanishing from view as he dropped. Ruby couldn't hear the sound of anything landing, but when she looked out the window, all she could see was a few sleeping Grimm, and no human in sight. She shook her shoulders slightly. No doubt, he would be okay. Just as she was about to leave, something occured to her, and she quickly doubled back, picking up a few more books, reading material, not research this time, then sped off after Qrow.

 **Six Months Later**

"So, there I was, standing over this smoldering Beowulf Alpha corpse, and she walks up to me, and says "Is that all you can do?" So I say, "Well, Winter, my other sword is just as big!""

Rounds of laughter erupted from the table a few behind where Ruby was sitting Qrow was drunk. Again. Though this was part of the plan, she assumed. Qrow was the best at distraction, obviously, but if Ruby had known that him drinking half the bar under the table, and regailing them with obvious fake stories, was his idea of a distraction, she would have done it herself. Of course, that would mean he would have to handle the other half... And Ruby wasn't sure she trusted him with that. In six months, she had learned a lot about her Uncle. And Ruby had grown a lot, too. Which is why, when she pushed herself from the table, and walked to the bar, the barstaff didn't think twice about pouring her two drinks. She dropped a few Lien on the table, took the drinks then walked off, this time, towards a different table. She set one of the glasses down in front of a hooded figure that sat in the darkest corner of the entire bar, then raised her own glass to her lips, taking a small sip of the warm liquid.

"I heard you know about the White Fang." She started, looking across at the figure as she lowered herself into the seat across from them. "Informants are hard to find. I'm sure the millitary would pay quite well to know about you."

The figure shifted slightly, as if reaching for a weapon, but was promptly stopped when Ruby continued. "Or, I could pay quite well for some information, and your total discression on the matter, of course."

After a few seconds, the figure placed their hands on the table, then picked up the glass, filled with a deep orange liquid. "I'm listening... What do you want to hear about?" He, for it was definitly a male voice, said. Though she couldn't see him properly, something about his voice was familiar. Very familiar. But she had no time to worry about that. The mission took presidence.

"I'm looking for a Faunus, possibly hiding out as a Human, an ex-White Fang member, who has been stalking them for a little over five months. Last seen outside Kamachi. Female, amber eyes, cat ears atop her head, possibly covered by a bow, Goes by the name, "Nightshade". Possibly injured, and in need of medical attention." Ruby spoke in a low tone, then pulled out a wallet, placing two thousand lien on the table in front of her, then placing her drink on top of it.

The figure shifted slightly when he saw the money, then let out a slight sigh. "Nightshade? That's what she's calling herself, eh? Yeah. She's on her way to Atlas, last I heard. No injuries, though. Looks like she was chasing after some old guy with white hair. From what I hear, this guy was some bigshot Hunter back in the day. The Demon of Beacon, or something like that. I'd steer clear, if those stories are true."

Ruby took a moment to process this. Blake was chasing someone? Someone with white hair? Could that be Ozpin? Regardless, she nodded to the hooded figure, then stood, taking her glass and knocking back the warm liquid, leaving the lien on the table for the man to take, before walking off. She made a beeline towards the door, passing Qrow on the way out, being sure to knock him with her elbow on the way out, to grab his attention. No doubt, he would be out within a few minutes.

She steped outside, through the heavy door, and into the crisp night air. The shattered moon that hung low in the sky cast an eerie glare across the land. They were in the village of Argos, south west of Vale, and just north of Minstral. Half the people here were Faunus, earning Ruby, a normal Human, a few glares. It was like back at home, only in reverse. The bar was about the only place that wasn't dominated by the Faunus presence. In a way, it was nice to see that the Faunus did have a place they could live in peace, but at the same time, it was rather intimidating. With all the glares that she got, she half expected to be attacked every time she rounded a corner. In a way, she thought she understood Blake even better, since coming to Argos. Understanding just how important that bow was to her, what it gave her. If Ruby had to face this everywhere, everyday, she would probably go insane.

Several minutes passed, and Qrow finally stepped outside, taking a moment to acclimate from the loud, rowdy atmosphere of the bar, to the quiet and peaceful one of the outside world. "So... What'd you get?" He asked in a low tone, starting to walk off just ahead of her, towards the nearest inn, where they had booked in for the night.

Ruby followed suit, keeping an eye on Qrow. It was pointless, though. Even drunk, he was still much more capable than herself. "Nightshade is following someone. Old hunter, white hair. The source believe him to be, and I quote, "The Demon of Beacon". Do you think it could be him?"

Qrow stopped at this, then let out a slight sigh. "If Nightshade really is following The Demon of Beacon, then we could have a huge problem on our hands. You know where they're headed?"

Ruby gave herself a small smile. "I think it's time to offer Winter a date, Uncle. It's not nice to keep a lady waiting."

 **So! There we have it! Chapter 1 of The Persuit of Nightshade! The poem in Summer's letter to Ruby is NOT mine, as a quick disclamer. It's from a Poem called "Last Rose of Summer". Moreover, I do not own RWBY, or any of the characters currently mentioned, I have no affiliation to Rooster Teeth and all that legal crap. The only thing I own, are the ideas that I have shared in these seven thousand and eighty words!**

 **So, as a heads up, there is no gaurentee that I will be updating this regularly. I just wrote this because I wanted to write, and this showed up on the screen before me. It's a bit awkward, writing like this, using my Xbox, instead of my laptop (It's broken, again. Yay.) and this is entirely unplanned. I do, of course, have a few points that I plan to touch upon, but I'm not telling what they are! Of course, as per usual, all feedback is welcome, positive and negitive! So, I hope you enjoyed it! If there's anything you're not sure of, leave a review and ask! I'll gladly reply, either in messages, or on the AN of the next chapter!**


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